How Kumiko Started
by Angel's Angel
Summary: Few small stories about how Kumiko started few things. Last ones were about how Kumiko started to feel something for Akaya. AkayaOC AkayaxOC Akaya/OC


I do not own Prince of Tennis!

I hope this will at least be better, I've been having troubles writing lately...

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* * *

How Kumiko Started**_

It was a sunny and peaceful day at the Tezuka residence. Kumiko was rolling on her bed since it was a holiday and she was bored. Kumiko started playing with a big bear plushie that she had gotten as a birthday gift from Atobe (despite how she said she doesn't like it, she has a soft spot for dolls).

"I wonder how did he know I like dolls… maybe it's because most of them give me dolls…" Kumiko said, looking at the pile of dolls she had at the corner of the room.

"I wonder if I can hide here…" Kumiko said walking towards the pile of dolls and placed the dolls so they are surrounding her. Few moments later, Tezuka had stepped into her room only to found it empty. Tezuka looked around the room and stared suspiciously at the pile of dolls.

"Kumiko, please stop it." Tezuka said as a mop of brown hair showed itself between the dolls.

"But it seemed fun, I got so many dolls on my birthday and they are so big! So I wonder if this can be my hiding place!" Tezuka sighed at his younger sister's childish acts.

"You're 14 now, remember that…" Tezuka saw his sister's slumped shoulders and smiled a little.

"Yes, onii-chan…"

That's how Tezuka would find his sister in a pile of dolls whenever she's trying to hide from him or upset.

* * *

It happened around 11 years ago, Kumiko was still 3 and she was sitting on her grandfather's lap, looking at her older brother swinging his tennis racket around. Kumiko looked back and forth at her brother's hand and looked at her grandfather.

"Ojii-chan, that… that… on onii-chan's hand…" Kunikazu smiled at his granddaughter and looked at his grandson.

"That's called a tennis racket. You hit a ball with it and than another person hit it back and so on."

"Tennis…? But onii-chan is alone…"

"Yes, he is training, you'll understand more when you're older." Kumiko nodded and looked back at her older brother. Even though Tezuka had a serious expression on his face, Kumiko knew her brother is smiling inside. Kumiko always admired his brothers, people her mother knew would say he's a very smart boy and Kumiko would always took pride in that, because he's her older brother. And she loved him because whenever she needed him, he'd always be there for her.

"Can I play…?" she asked, looking up at her grandfather.

"I don't think so, Kumiko, it's nap time for you." Kumiko pouted but didn't argue when she felt her grandfather picked her up in his arms and she yawned.

"Onii-chan…" Kumiko saw her brother looking at her with a smile and she smiled back while yawning and leaning against Kunikazu's shoulder to sleep.

That's when Kumiko started dreaming about her brother and trophies.

* * *

Kumiko heard the sound of people quarreling and quickly ran towards the Seigaku's tennis court and froze.

"Did you think that we're not good enough for you to use your left hand? If you're not going to use it, I might as well do this!" It was all like in slow-motion, how the senior lifted up his racket and hit her brother's left arm. Kumiko just stood there and couldn't say or do anything, she was too scared to notice. That's when she saw the captain of her brother's tennis club approached her and carried her up, soothing her when tears rolled down uncontrollably from her eyes.

"It's okay, Kumiko-chan… it'll be okay…" Yamato said. But in Kumiko's head, that incident kept on repeating until when her older brother saw her she couldn't even approached him. When he had told her to go home with him, she yelled 'no' at him and quickly hid behind his coach.

"Why don't you reconsider my offer Tezuka? Kumiko-chan would love it if you kept playing…"

And when Tezuka told her he'd kept playing tennis she could finally hug him, even though she still have her nightmares.

That was when Kumiko started to hate violent tennis and nightmares came until her brother tucked her in.

* * *

"Vice-captain Tezuka!" Kumiko sighed and let her sketchbook down on the grass. Now Kumiko is in her 2nd year and had became vice-captain of the boy's tennis club. How she got that position she doesn't know, but she knew it had connection to Yukimura Seiichi, her former captain, in the high school division of Rikkai Dai. She thought she's kept being the manager and at least enter the Art Club, even though it's late, but no, her former captain had even put her on the vice-captain spot. But she couldn't protest, she had to watch her current captain anyways.

"Yes? Is something wrong?"

"Captain Kirihara is looking for you." Kumiko sighed. Kirihara Akaya had become the captain, at the troika's recommendation. Akaya is the strongest out of the team now anyway, so it wouldn't be a surprise. And like old times, she just had to help him on something. Whenever she asked her brother and her old teammates about it, they'd just look at her with a mysterious smile and her brother would only told her she's going to realize it soon from the phone. Her older brother had gone to Germany and now she's left alone, she got lonely, of course, but with her being the vice-captain, she had forgotten the feeling.

"I'll be there soon, I have to tidy up." The first year had looked behind her to see her sketchbook and pencils on the grass and nodded, running back towards the tennis court. When the freshman had disappeared, Kumiko sighed and shook her head.

"And I had to abandon my sketching again because of him, that Kirihara-kun…" Kumiko brushed her hand in her now long hair. She had tried to grow it again, but she'd always put it in a bun or tie it up whenever she's about to play a match. But sometimes she'd just let it be, because she'd try and play a new style without focusing on her sight. Kumiko picked up her sketchbook and walked towards the tennis court to see a boy standing with his hands on his hips, frowning towards a bunch of freshmen.

"What now, Kirihara-kun? I already told you the freshmen are mine to handle, didn't I?" the said boy turned around and had a red hue on his face when he saw Kumiko.

"But since you were out I thought I'd take over." Kumiko shook her head and smiled at him.

"If you were handling it, why did you look for me? I was in the middle of finishing my sketches as well…" Akaya smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well…" Kumiko smiled at him and pushed his back.

"Now go and practice with the others, the freshmen are mine to take care of, captain! I don't need you here!" Kumiko laughed, almost kicking Akaya on the back.

"Why don't you be a little bit more like a girl, Kumiko?"

"I blame that on you and the others for letting me stay on the tennis club. If I grew up with boys and tennis, this will happen to every girl. Now go!" Kumiko said, answering Akaya with a big smile.

"Fine." Akaya grumbled with a blush on his face as he walked towards the rest of the 2nd and 3rd years. Kumiko shook her head and noticed how the freshmen were watching her.

"What are you looking at? Go back to practice or laps for all of you." Kumiko said, smiling as the freshmen scattered into formation and started swinging their rackets. Kumiko walked towards the bench and sat there taking out her sketchbook and started finishing what she was drawing, a picture of her with her former teammates. Kumiko had wanted it to be perfect and she had worked on it for weeks.

"Tezuka Kumiko?" Kumiko's eyes twitched when she heard a familiar voice of one of the cheerleaders. Kumiko had never got along with some of them, some she could tolerate, and some she could not. And now standing in front her was one of the ones she couldn't tolerate, a classmate's of Akaya's.

"Yes, may I help you?" Kumiko placed away her sketchbook and smiled at the girl only to have her cheek swollen after that.

"Vice-captain!" few cries from the freshmen group and she waved it off with a hand.

"Did I do something wrong to offend you?"

"Yes, by becoming a vice-captain of the team, even if it's by Yukimura-senpai's recommendation." Kumiko sighed and shook her head.

"Please get out, we're having our practice here." Kumiko could swear she felt her heart drop when she heard the sound of a paper being ripped. She turned to her side only to see the girl ripping the paper to pieces and throwing it away with the wind.

"This piece of trash doesn't even need to be appreciated. That's all I'm here for, goodbye." Old memories of her days as freshman being bullied by her seniors resurfaced and she looked at her shaking hands.

"Vice-captain Tezuka!"

"Kumiko!" was the last thing she heard before darkness came to her.

That's how nightmares started to haunt her once more.

* * *

Kumiko sighed for the several times as she looked at the now pieces of her sketches, the freshmen had tried their best to look for it and she felt very grateful to them. She then looked around and saw that she was in the infirmary.

"Ah, you're awake! Thank goodness for that." Kumiko saw the school's nurse in front of her.

"What happened…?"

"You fell unconscious because of shock, Kirihara-kun brought you here. How are you feeling?"

"Dizzy…"

"I guess you're free to go, after you drink this and go rest at home. Kirihara-kun had told me that you could go home and he hoped you'd rest more. He was really worried about you."

"Oh…"

"And the freshmen of your tennis club came, bringing those pieces of paper… they really look up to you, Kumiko…"

"I wonder why…" Kumiko said as her eyes became blurred. The nurse sighed and patted her head.

"Some girls might be jealous of you, but you shouldn't listen to them. Your juniors look up to you as well as your friends. Don't listen to the upper-classmen who are jealous to you, you should know about that, child."

"Maybe I should quit…"

"If you quit the club, one might be too sad to let you go…"

"Who would that be?"

"Kirihara-kun seemed to care for you a lot, you should realize that." Kirihara Akaya, her best friend even before she went into middle school.

"We've been friends for years…"

"So I've heard, now drink this and you can go. Be careful now, Tezuka-san."

"Yes…" Kumiko said after she had gulped the pill. Kumiko bowed and closed the door when she felt someone embraced her.

"Kirihara-kun?"

"You okay? Maybe I should say that the court is cheerleader free…" Kumiko smiled a small smile, Akaya had always made her smile. He's a friend that Kumiko just couldn't bear to lose.

"I'm okay, you don't have to worry about me. I need to go and watch the freshmen."

"School's over, Kumiko…" She's been out for that long?

"Really? I guess I'll go home…"

"I'll walk with you." Kumiko shook her head and smiled.

"I'm okay on my own, Kirihara-kun." Kumiko then felt herself bring crushed in an embrace once more and sighed, wrapping her arms around the taller boy's waist.

"If you need anything, you can always talk to me, right? About that sketch you made…"

"Looks like I had to make another one…"

"Sorry I didn't see it sooner…"

"And make you got into trouble again? I don't think so, Kirihara-kun, Sei-senpai told me to keep an eye on you and I will!" Kumiko said, freeing herself from his embrace.

"You know… I'm jealous of Yukimura-senpai… you'd always told him anything… you'd always told the senpais anything, why didn't you ever told me anything?" Kumiko smiled and couldn't help but to hug him. Akaya was surprised at her sudden hug but quickly returned it.

"Because you're my best friend, I don't want you to worry about me. And sometimes I know that you couldn't help, so I decided to tell the senpais instead. But if you want me to tell you, I'd tell, I promise."

"If you need anything, just tell me, okay?"

"Sure, Kirihara-kun. Now, I need to go home, can you let me go now?" Kumiko giggled when Kirihara got flustered.

"See you tomorrow, Akaya-kun." Kirihara quickly snapped out from his flustered self and looked at Kumiko with his eyes wide open.

"W-What did you say?"

"Akaya-kun… it's okay, right?" Akaya grinned and hugged her again, despite Kumiko' protest.

"Of course it's okay! See you tomorrow Kumiko!" Akaya said kissing her forehead and ran away. Kumiko stood there frozen on her feet and could feel her cheeks getting warm.

'… _S-Should I tell nii-chan? About this fluttering feeling in my stomach?'_ Kumiko looked at the direction Akaya went and quickly felt her heartbeat faster.

'_M-Maybe not…'_ Kumiko said as she ran home. When she told her mother about it, Ayana just smiled and shook her head, saying that it will come to her soon enough.

That's when Kumiko would feel embarrassed whenever Akaya decided to hug her at school and at the tennis courts as well as felt her stomach fluttering when Akaya stayed close to her.

* * *

That's all~ R&R!

I hope this is good... I've been having trouble writing lately with all the sad songs I've listened to... ugh...

I hope this is to your liking!

thx xD


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